CNN
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[Breaking news update, published at 6:50 p.m. ET]
Three people were shot and killed Saturday at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, in what law enforcement described as a racially motivated incident.
“This shooting was racially motivated and he hated Black people,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said at a news conference. He said the shooter, who is White and shot himself after the attack, left behind evidence that outlined his “disgusting ideology of hate” and his motive in the attack.
All three victims were Black.
The shooting happened blocks away from Edward Waters University, a historically Black school where students living on campus were told to stay in their residence halls.
[Original story, published at 6:35 p.m. ET]
The person suspected of opening fire and killing multiple people in a “racially motivated” attack at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday afternoon is dead, officials said.
The suspected shooter was barricaded in the store after opening fire and leaving “multiple fatalities,” Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said. State Sen. Tracie Davis told CNN the suspect is now dead.
The circumstances surrounding the shooter’s death are unclear. It was not immediately clear if victims were shot inside or outside the store.
Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson Eric Prosswimmer told CNN the department was “on standby” to treat victims but could not share any information about how many people were hurt.
Jacksonville is located in northeast Florida, about 35 miles south of the Georgia border.
The area near the Dollar General store features several churches and an apartment building across the street.
Edward Waters University, a historically Black private Christian school that is located less than a mile southeast of the store, issued campus-wide stay-in-place order. The warning said students, faculty and staff don’t appear to be involved, according to preliminary reports.
“Our campus police have secured all campus facilities. Students are being kept in their residence halls through the afternoon until the scene is cleared,” the alert said.
Davis, whose district includes Jacksonville, called the shooting a “tragic day” for the city in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“I’m offering prayers to the families of the victims and am on my way to meet with (Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters) for answers,” Davis posted Saturday.
“This type of violence is unacceptable in our communities,” Davis added.
There have been at least 470 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting in which four or more people are injured and or killed, not including the shooter. The nation surpassed the 400 mark in July, – the earliest month such a high number has been recorded since 2013, the group said.
The gun violence in Jacksonville marked one of several reported shooting incidents in the US over two days, including in Massachusetts and Oklahoma. Shots rang out across several cities, bringing a startling halt to normal summertime activities like high school football games and weekend shopping.
In Boston, at least seven people were injured Saturday morning in a shooting that interrupted a popular parade, police said. A high school football game in Choctaw, Oklahoma, took a deadly turn Friday night after a possible argument led to three people being shot, authorities say. One of them – a 16-year-old boy – died. And Four people, including a 17-year-old, were killed at an apartment in Joppatowne, Maryland, Saturday morning, officials said.
